Thematic priorities of the Ukrainian medical book

Abstract

Introduction. The rapid development of medical science and the steady public demand for qualified information on health care, prevention, and treatment of illnesses lead to the expansion of the medical book`s thematic diversity as one of the major channels of information support. Relevance and purpose. Despite the considerable interest of researchers of book publishing and journalism, linguists, literary critics the subject matter of the medical book is considered only tangentially. The purpose of our article is to study the thematic priorities of the medical book of Ukraine. Methodology. We used general and specific methods of empirical and theoretical levels of research. The comparative-historical method gave the opportunity to study the development of a medical book in chronological order for 1991–2017. Content analysis, structural and typological methods were used to divide medical books into specific thematic and typological groups. Results and findings. In order to analyze the thematic priorities of the Ukrainian medical book, the catalogs of the leading libraries of Ukraine and some regional libraries were studied, we also examined the contents of 488 issues of the bibliography of the Chronicle of Books of the State Scientific Institution of the Ivan Fedorov Book Chamber of Ukraine. Medical publications include books of the medical profession reflecting the specifics of the industry; intended for a wide readership, which is usually determined by its interest in a specific type of specialized literature. Chronological boundaries of the study: the second half of 1991-2017 years. It covers the period of state independence of Ukraine. Conclusions. During 1991–2017, 4306 medical books were published. There are 6 major thematic groups identified: «physiotherapy» – 38 %, «pathology and clinical medicine» – 23 %, «health and general hygiene» – 16 %, «medicines and pharmacology» – 9 %, «theoretical medicine» – 8,5 %, «diet and food hygiene» – 5,5. The theme of the book – its problematic aspect and the subject matter of the author’s thinking is often given in the title of the publication, its contents and fully disclosed in the text. The recipient is offered traditional and emerging scientific knowledge to diagnose, treat, and prevent disease in a variety of ways, and to promote health. Keywords: book, topic, problem, medical literature, medical information space.